transpiredincairo. asa consequence of the video. >> yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy. >> the natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video were used as an excuse by extremists to see if they can also directly harm u.s. interests. >> chris: i'm asking you personally, not as the committee as a whole, how do you explain these shifting stories? and the president continuing to talk about the video after the head of the counterterrorism center said that it was a terror attack. and do you think, do you think it had anything to do with politics in the middle of a presidential campaign? >> i don't think it had anything to do with politics. i do think it had something to do with our assessment. my view is simple and very direct. the minute you know mortars are used, or rpgs are used, it's either a terrorist attack or a military attack. those are the only two things it could be. what is a terrorist? a terrorist isn't necessarily all one thing. a terrorist uses the attack as a vehicle. we all know that now. therefore, it's pretty clear th